Finnish authorities: militiaman's family is being deported because Ukraine doesn't persecute refugees from DNR

May 28 2015

Interfax

Interfax

The Finnish migration department believes refugees from eastern Ukraine do not need shelter in Finland because nothing threatens them in the rest of Ukraine.

The Finnish migration department believes refugees from eastern Ukraine do not need shelter in Finland because nothing threatens them in the rest of Ukraine.

"The security situation in Donetsk and Lugansk is bad due to the military conflict. However, there is no danger to civilians on the rest of the territory of Ukraine," the department said, responding to the Russian media criticism of the Finnish authorities' decision to deport to Kiev Tatyana Imatova and her 7-year-old son.

The statement, which cites international information, says that there is no evidence of persecution by the Ukrainian authorities.

Finland believes decisions on granting shelter to refugees from crisis regions should be made by the government of Ukraine.

The migration service says in its statement that 302 militiamen had requested shelter in Finland in 2014, but the number of people seeking refugee status has recently reduced and reached 24 as of May 27, 2015.

"These people are from all regions of Ukraine, not only from the conflict zone. In 2014-2015, Finland granted residence permits to three residents of Ukraine for humanitarian reasons," the statement says.

The Helsinki Administrative court earlier decided to deport Tatyana Imatova, a Donbas native, and her son to Kiev.

Finnish human rights activist Johan Backman earlier told Interfax that Tatyana's husband, who is fighting on the side of the DNR militia, sent his family to Finland, where Tatyana's parents live, ten months ago. They settled and the son went to school." However, Backman said "the authorities have asked Tatyana and her son to urgently leave the country, although they have no place to live in Ukraine."

Backman said the Finnish court finds that Tatyana can easily return home because, according to the court ruling, "there is no military conflict on the territory of the Donetsk region." The court also said the Ukrainian government supports refugees and it has even adopted a law prohibiting discrimination against refugees.

In the meantime, according to Backman, Tatyana told the Finnish authorities Ukrainian nationalists have threatened her son in school and she cannot return to her homeland because the Ukrainian army is currently present in the place where she lived.

Backman said he is afraid "she may be sent to Kyiv to the law enforcement officers when the first chance arises" and her deportation jeopardizes the lives of the woman and her child.

The Finnish human rights activist said the Ukrainian authorities have officially refused to honor their human rights commitments in the treatment of residents of Donbass.